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Day 7 Feb 2
Te Anau to Bluff
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Still mirky in Te Anau so I had a brief look at the lake, took some photos
at the marina, grown since I was here last, and headed to Manapouri.
Here, too, it was mirky so I took a few more photos and turned off the
main highway onto the Southern Scenic Route. This is one of the many “branded”
routes in NZ and officially runs round the southern coast from Milford
Haven, in the West, to Dunedin, in the East, a distance of about 440 kilometres.
It is a gentle road, pretty but not enthralling.
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Te Anau Marina
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It is the sort of scenery
which is pleasant to look at but not easy to capture in a photograph. For
some distance it follows the Waiau River, at one stage the second largest
in the country but now seriously denuded by the Manapouri hydro electric
scheme.
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Lake
Manapouri
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Waiau River
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Much of the area is dry, with the North of Southland being an official
drought area. The sheep appear to be living on hay rather than grass.
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Southern
Scenic Route
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Many sheep
but not much grass
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Clifden has a suspension bridge, completed in 1899. It is now, thank goodness,
restricted to foot traffic, but it is a fine example of an early suspension
bridge. The modern bridge alongside is nothing special to look at. The
river, in spite of being much smaller than previously, still runs through
an impressive gorge.
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Clifden suspension
bridge
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New Clifden
bridge
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Waiau Gorge
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Tuatapere is a timber town – although the sign that I spotted on leaving
it declared it to be the Sausage Capital of New Zealand. Alas, I didn’t
encounter any sausages whilst I was there. I did find the Bushmans Museum,
which contains some interesting timber industry memorabilia and tools,
and a retired Bank building, now serving as some sort of gallery.
There was a considerable amount of material in the museum relating to the
impact of the various governments’ policies regarding the felling of native
timber on the local economy. The consideration of wider environmental issues
will always be a problem when the livelihood of a small community is at
stake.
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Tuatapere Gallery
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The road arrives at the sea at a spectacular spot called McCracken’s Rest.
The view over the coastline from the top of the cliff, particularly in
the emerging sunshine, was brilliant. Unfortunately, there were lots and
lots of other people there so I beat a hasty retreat.
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McCracken’s
Rest
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Riverton had been my planned stop for the night but a failure to find an
available bed caused me to look elsewhere. As I arrived in the bright sunshine,
it looked very good. It is an important fishing port and I had been told
about a good café. After a little searching I located it (unless there
are 2 such establishments in the town) and had a fine lunch - pan fried
blue cod on a warm salad of new potatoes, salad leaves and picked artichoke
hearts. Not cheap but well cooked and presented. All of this was eaten
from a position with a wonderful sea view, although some of it was now
shrouded in mist.
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Lunch at Riverton
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I drove round the coast for a short distance to an area known as Riverton
Rocks, This is a picnic and camping area, very pretty, with sandy beaches
and rocks for the waves to crash against.
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Riverton
Rocks
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Riverton
Harbour
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Riverton
Church
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After a brief wander I returned to the town centre, via another viewing
area, took some photos of the Church and went into the museum. This is
in the old court buildings and is a fairly typical local New Zealand museum,
with collections of Maori, military, colonial and social content.
In the UK, the Masonic Order has traditionally conducted its affairs in
some secrecy. Things are different in New Zealand, with many Lodge buildings
loudly proclaiming their function. The one in Riverton is a splendid example.
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Riverton Masonic Lodge
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The weather brightened up still further as I arrived at Invercargill and
the city looked quite inviting, although a trifle dull.
Once I had passed through, however, and was heading down the narrow spit
which leads to Bluff, the cloud started coming in with a vengeance. On
my only previous visit here, I didn’t bother driving up Bluff Hill because
it wasn’t only cloudy but raining cats and dogs. This time I drove all
the way up and walked the final hundred feet or so up a circular ramp.
There is a well labelled viewing platform - but absolutely no view.
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Sterling
Point signpost, Bluff
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Bluff Beach
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Having proved my point, I came back down again and drove through Bluff
to my hotel. After checking in, I walked along a coastal path for about
a 1 kilometre and had a play on the rocks. I then returned and settled
in to pre-dinner diary writing.
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Lands End
Hotel, Bluff
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View from
the windows
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To understand the true excitement of dinner, you need a little background
understanding of Bluff. In essence, it is a dump with only 3 claims to
fame:
1)
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It’s the end of the earth - ie the last town this side of Antarctica
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2)
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Bluff Oysters are one of the great culinary delights of the fish eating
world (but they are out of season)
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3)
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Fred & Mrytle’s paua shell house in Bluff is a classic of Kiwi kitsch
culture. You will learn more about it tomorrow but Fred & Myrtle recently
died at the age of 90+ & it transpires that the waitress is one of their
daughters.
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Anyway, I arrived downstairs at the hotel & was ushered into a window seat
with a stunning view direct to the South Pole. The waitress - elderly lady
built a bit like Nursie out of Blackadder II - took my wine order & then
came back to check because they didn’t do it by the glass. I explained
that I wanted a whole bottle of the Tasman Bay pinot gris. A few minutes
later, looking a bit shaken, she appeared with a bottle of pinot noir.
I explained that I didn’t want the red but the white pinot gris. She went
away & came back & said that they didn’t actually have the Tasman Bay pinot
gris but would I like the Chard Farm variant. I said yes & it eventually
came & eventually went (inside of me). She then went over to another table
& dropped something which smashed several glasses. At the end of all this,
I ordered some bread with avocado oil & kelp pepper for dipping. The kelp,
which I have been meaning to try, had a certain medicinal flavour (at the
time I couldn’t put a name to it but it has since been identified as tincture
of iodine) but not much else to encourage me to try it a second time. I
followed this with 2 large lumps of local blue cod, dusted with curry powder
& pan fried. Very good. The main accompanying vegetable was broad beans,
something I have loved since childhood. When the landlord came over & sat
at my table, I managed to establish that they were frozen & from one of
the main frozen food companies in New Zealand. Must try some. Had a lengthy
chat with the landlord (in appearance & style he should have been a London
cabbie) and the Australian couple on the next table, during which I learned
about the waitress & added a lot to the entertainment of the evening. After
some cheese & a coffee I then crawled upstairs to bed & finished my diary.
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